OrientationObservationIn-depth interviewsDocument analysis and semiologyConversation and discourse analysisSecondary Data
SurveysExperimentsEthicsResearch outcomes
Conclusion
Today I was propositioned by a client. It has taken three months to happen but now it has, it opened my eyes to much more than expected. I was sitting in Foxy's, with Emma and Belinda…when one of Emma's regulars arrived… The man came into the lounge and sat opposite me on the sofa and proceeded to chat about the weather. This all seemed normal until I noticed that both Emma and Belinda had gone out of the room and were upstairs watching on the CCTV… After a long awkward silence he confided that he always 'tried out' the new girls, even though Emma was his regular and if I was free, would I mind seeing him in the jacuzzi room. As planned, I made excuses that I was just a friend and not working. I could hear raucous laughter from the girls upstairs as they listened and watched on camera. Minutes later Emma came down to rescue me and took the client to a room. Belinda came downstairs laughing at my embarrassment, assuring me that it was all on camera to show the manager and the other girls when they came on shift. The confrontation with a client that I had anticipated since I started visiting saunas had uncovered something else. The women had used my status as a 'non-sex worker' to provide their fun and games. (Fieldwork Diary, August, 2000)
This anecdote from my personal diary is an example of many incidents where respondents made the researcher the 'butt of the joke'. Exploring the joke with Emma and Belinda afterwards was as revealing as the experience itself. Emma reassured me that she would not have 'set me up' with a 'stranger' but had hand picked that particular client because she knew he would proposition me but also would not be agitated by my refusals. It was clear that the participants concocted the awkward situation but equally wanted that situation to be controlled by them, so they could observe me, as I had observed them. Showing the recorded incident to other workers both in my presence and when I was absent enabled respondents to explore my character and ability to take a joke.
